New burps at nydc!

Media Invite

(Daddy reviews)

nydc turned sweet 17 last month and gosh, I feel old already. But that's hardly the point. The point is that nydc has upped the ante by churning out more than 20 new tasty entrees and delectable desserts that diners can enjoy regardless of the occasion. And thanks to the kind folks at nydc and Platform PR, our entire family - my parents included - were invited down to run the rule over the new menu.

Going back to nydc's Holland Village outlet is like a homecoming of sorts for me. It was its first outlet back in 1995, and I have fond memories of going there during my JC days for that occasional oven-baked rice or mudpie treat.

Obviously the menu has been overhauled quite a fair bit since then, but I was still eagerly looking out for that oven-baked rice item. I wasn't disappointed, but more on that later. We had the entrees lined up in front of us as we got seated and first up - the Waldorf with a hic ($10.80)!

Essentially, it's a Waldorf salad with a punch. Whiskey-infused grapes to be precise. And believe me, they DO pack a rather hefty punch. Worry not if you are dining with kids, you are able to request for the grapes to be separated from the salad. Which is what we did, although we had to keep a watchful eye on Ale who was hellbent on popping one of those grapes into her mouth!

The next entree though, was a natural crowd-pleaser.

The Skinny Dip Chips ($13.50) was served with three kinds of dips - spiced chilli beef, blue cheese and the monkies' fave, artichoke blend. The wifey and I loved the chilli beef dip on the other hand, which was good since all of us didn't have to fight over the same dip. Only problem was, we ran out of chips!

New drinks were rolled out in the new menu as well, and Ash chose the Berry Freezy ($6.80) which is a blend of fresh mixed berries, lemonade and soda. He loved it!

Ayd went for the Raspberry Tremble ($6.80), which is the raspberry twist of the all-time fave Lemon Shiver drink. And just like its tangy cousin, it is just as spritely and refreshing but pink!

The wifey liked it so much that she ended up finishing more than half of it. It was not as if we adults faced a lack of choices when it came to drinks. We had the Nutty Cookie Cruncher (left, $7.80) and the Shake Affogato Shake (right, $9.80) to choose from.

The Nutty Cookie Cruncher is an espresso-vanilla shake with bits of cookie crunch. And the best part? You can dictate your very own espresso level! My preference leaned to the Shake Affogato Shake though, which had a lethal combination of vanilla, espresso AND Bailey's. 'Nuff said.

With all of the above entrees and drinks teasing our taste buds, we were only too happy to dive straight into the Mains! And leading the line-up - Yankee's in Town ($14.80).

Just imagine, a duo of hot sauce roasted chicken wrapped in bacon, and MORE bacon wrapped thick garlic bratwurst sausages. Fats has never tasted this good. Just a note of caution though, the sauce is a tad spicy so this is a dish which the adults can selfishly wallop to their hearts' desire.

No such luck with the next dish, as I had to fight tooth and nail with my 3 monkies in order to land a mouthful.

The Romeo & Juliet ($11.90) - an all-time favourite oven-baked rice dish - is back on the menu! Just check out the menu's description: Smoky crispy bacon stirred with tender sweet corn and hot herbed rice in nydc’s signature garlic mayo all topped with oozy, melty mozzarella. What's there not to like?

And Ayd & Ale agree too! I was confident that one portion would be more than adequate for the both of them, with leftovers for me to savour. In the end, both cried for more - I too cried along with them - when they each finished their respective half-portions.

Luckily, the kind people at nydc whipped up another one just in time to prevent a nuclear meltdown.

All these time, my mum and wifey were happily tucking into their own Drunken Masta' ($16.80).

Well, happily would be rather apt as the seafood pasta dish has been spiked with a shot of tequila. And if you are like my mum who felt that the alcohol content is somewhat mild, you can opt to increase the happiness levels to Drunk (2 shots) or K.O. (3 shots).

Of course, you can also request to have an alcohol-free pasta for the kids. Unless if you are yearning for a peaceful and kids-free night.

I'm only kidding.

The last mains which we got to try was the Picasso Pizza (Base $8.95, Toppings from $1.50 each). And this was the one where Ash was only too happy to create his own pizza.

There are 3 bases to choose from; Signature Garlic Mayo, Blue Cheese or Tomato. As for toppings, there are 2 categories to take your pick from; button mushrooms, pineapple cubes, onions and capsicums are available at $1.50 for each topping while the meat toppings like chicken, meatballs, shrimps and sausages are at $2.25 each.

Ash was feeling carnivorous and chose the shrimps, meatballs and ham. The result? He ate 4 out of the 6 slices, a pretty mean feat for his size!

So quite predictably, all of us were bursting at the seams at the end of our meals. Full, yes but happy!

And to think we still had the DESSERTS to contend with!

nydc has always been known for its mudpies and in addition to its original line-up of mudpies, more have joined in the fray.

The Sealed with a Kiss (above photo, top, $11.80) has two layers of chocolate ice cream with gooey marshmallow sandwiching nydc's signature brownie. Sinful yet sweet. The 3-some (above photo, bottom, $11.80) was a hit with the monkies, simply because it had strawberry cheesecake ice cream!

My parents had the Sourpuss on the Loose (below photo, left, $5.80) lemon tart and A Coffee Affair (below photo, right, $11.80) mudpie. The former was a tad too sour for their liking but my mum loved the coffee mudpie which is dark coffee and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream with espresso fudge chips and crunchy granola. Yums!

By now, our tummies were protesting vehemently but we bravely soldiered on. And I was glad I did because I loved the XOXO (below photo, left, $11.80) mudpie. After all, how can I say no to getting all boozy with chocolate ice cream and strawberry cheesecake ice cream laced with shots of Bailey’s?

On the other hand, the cakes were a bit disappointing. We only sampled two of them - Englishman In New York (above photo, bottom right, $6.80/slice) and P-Nut Buttered Up (above photo, top right, $6.80/slice) - and both didn't exactly live up to their billing.

Perhaps our tastebuds had been utterly pampered by the mudpies. As Ale would gladly attest to.

Don't underestimate her. Her ingesting abilities are mysteriously enhanced when ice cream is involved. But I guess that applies to most women when it comes to desserts.

But one thing is for sure, all of us thoroughly enjoyed our nydc dinner! Thanks once again to nydc for hosting us!

And if you are planning to bring your little ones to nydc, here's a piece of good news.

With every order of any regular a la carte Main Course, kids eat for FREE at the nydc branches of Velocity & Tampines! Choose your free Kids Meal from the following: